A simple explanation is that the fuzz is acting as both the rf amplifier and demodulator, thanks to the asymmetrical clipping. The capacitance of the cable along with the pickup bobbin are acting as the rc tank, making it a very simple am radio, similar to a crystal radio. I'd solve this with a couple 10 to 50 pf capacitors in the circuit, changing very little the tone, but grounding those very high frequencies. A small resistor, around 1k, right before the first transistor would work too.
The fuzz face doesn't use any diode clipping..its two collector follower (pnp)/ emitter follower amplifiers (one for input stage and one for output) with a shunt series feedback network for controlled gain..its a minimum part count fuzz that just about works
Firstly Silicon fuzz faces (including the Smiley) are notorious for picking up radio stations, that being said there are things you can do to minimize this GREATLY. First totally shield the whole pickup cavity....EVERYTHING, control cavity, pickup cavitys (the bottom and sides of each pickup space) ...even the input jack cavity....with copper shielding tape, you can easily find out how to do this and where to get the best supplies for this job anywhere online EVEN UA-cam VIDEOS.....And your Strat will thank you whenever you are using every type of "dirt pedal" from then on. Other things also contribute to the problem (the wiring in your house, florescent lights, nearby high tension power lines, using cheap instrument cables, proximity to other gear that is not grounded well....BTW fuzz faces always sound better using older style carbon zinc (instead of "Alkaline" batterys and using a battery on your smiley will not only make it sound better but keeps it away from other not well grounded pedal power supplies and ground loops in your pedal board.... I suggest fully copper shielding your Strat and using a battery ....then go to a friend's house in another location....and try it.....Just the Shielding alone is going to help your problem ALOT
I have a Chicago Stompworks Blooze Maker overdrive that does this, but my distortion and fuzz do not? Changing cables did not help either. (maybe the cables were of similar quality but wonder why the distortion and fuzz do not catch radio waves?)
Just yesterday I broke out my things. I have been having trouble with connections. So I would plug in a cable tap the end for noise. This would at least tell me that it would work. I have been keeping them separate but I would loose track of which ones worked. I somehow came across a "Road Hog" cable.This convinced me Road Hog is the ticket. Lots of possibilities for interference computers extension cords and whatnot in the hole I would plug in and play. No noise. I would tap the end of the no sound. I figured the cable didn't work but closely i would hear it makes noise. I found though it worked fine. The cable must have come in with scrap here at the Recyceling center where I work. Cable Like it says at the end of the video. It might cost a bit more but silent operation equals no pain. Amplifiers used to have polarity change plugs and switches, ground lift options Transformers in amplifiers would be situated in what seems to be not uniform placement in the chassis ...hum. same things with components in the area. There was a joker near a place that I used to live with a ham radio. He couldn't physically hear me but he would find me with his equipment and squelch me (a good way to loose the radio operators license) he would do this to let me know he was alive I guess. Senior citizens they too need a hobby. Cables though May I suggest Road Hog.
glad to hear you seem to have fixed the issue!! I never heard of something like that before and found this very interesting. I would believe that a metallic box (if the metal is conductive) is the best way to shield the electronics inside. Therefore I would have been seriously surprised if it would have turned out that the smiley is the evildoer. So if the problem becomes more obvious if the pedal is active I would believe that the issue was happening before and just amplified by the pedal (through gain and compression). My initial thought was that also the strings of youf guitar might act as antennas. If so I think you might test this if you turn your guitar in different directions especially from horizontal to verticel position. But anyway It looks like you have fixed the problem. All the best !!
Thanks! Since filming this I have noticed some radio frequencies in my other fuzz face style pedals, but not in any of my other pedals (including overdrives/distortions). Who knows, there may be a “part 2” of this video hahaha
That would be cool, if I could predict when it will show up and what various conditions make it happen. I kind of think a “radio effect” would in and of itself be a cool guitar pedal. Sadly, it doesn’t work great for Hendrix, which is the real reason I own fuzz pedals lol
If it’s an intermittent problem, it could be that the problem simply wasn’t occurring during the time I used new cables. That being said, JHS told me that FuzzFace style pedals are so simple in design that it’s “pretty much they are just a radio that works in reverse.” We will see if it comes back I guess 🤷🏻
it depends on the pedal. I have more than a few pedals and they don't do it. One of my pedals did. So it's possible that you just had pedals, Preston, that didn't do this. Thank god for simple solutions! Also, Every Note Counts, thanks for making this!
![Stop RF "Radio Frequency" Interference! [Ways To Solve Noise Issues]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/tS7SvoT8Ivw/mqdefault.jpg)
Stick a 10K resistor between the input jack and circuit input. That stopped the Mexican radio station from coming through my Fuzz Face.
Thank you for the tip and thanks for watching!
A simple explanation is that the fuzz is acting as both the rf amplifier and demodulator, thanks to the asymmetrical clipping. The capacitance of the cable along with the pickup bobbin are acting as the rc tank, making it a very simple am radio, similar to a crystal radio. I'd solve this with a couple 10 to 50 pf capacitors in the circuit, changing very little the tone, but grounding those very high frequencies. A small resistor, around 1k, right before the first transistor would work too.
Thanks for the input and thanks for watching!
The fuzz face doesn't use any diode clipping..its two collector follower (pnp)/ emitter follower amplifiers (one for input stage and one for output) with a shunt series feedback network for controlled gain..its a minimum part count fuzz that just about works
@@Danielallanz it doesn't have any discrete diode, but the transistors may act as diodes in some situations.
Firstly Silicon fuzz faces (including the Smiley) are notorious for picking up radio stations, that being said there are things you can do to minimize this GREATLY. First totally shield the whole pickup cavity....EVERYTHING, control cavity, pickup cavitys (the bottom and sides of each pickup space) ...even the input jack cavity....with copper shielding tape, you can easily find out how to do this and where to get the best supplies for this job anywhere online EVEN UA-cam VIDEOS.....And your Strat will thank you whenever you are using every type of "dirt pedal" from then on. Other things also contribute to the problem (the wiring in your house, florescent lights, nearby high tension power lines, using cheap instrument cables, proximity to other gear that is not grounded well....BTW fuzz faces always sound better using older style carbon zinc (instead of "Alkaline" batterys and using a battery on your smiley will not only make it sound better but keeps it away from other not well grounded pedal power supplies and ground loops in your pedal board.... I suggest fully copper shielding your Strat and using a battery ....then go to a friend's house in another location....and try it.....Just the Shielding alone is going to help your problem ALOT
I have a Chicago Stompworks Blooze Maker overdrive that does this, but my distortion and fuzz do not? Changing cables did not help either. (maybe the cables were of similar quality but wonder why the distortion and fuzz do not catch radio waves?)
Just yesterday I broke out my things. I have been having trouble with connections. So I would plug in a cable tap the end for noise. This would at least tell me that it would work. I have been keeping them separate but I would loose track of which ones worked. I somehow came across a "Road Hog" cable.This convinced me Road Hog is the ticket. Lots of possibilities for interference computers extension cords and whatnot in the hole I would plug in and play. No noise. I would tap the end of the no sound. I figured the cable didn't work but closely i would hear it makes noise. I found though it worked fine. The cable must have come in with scrap here at the Recyceling center where I work. Cable Like it says at the end of the video. It might cost a bit more but silent operation equals no pain. Amplifiers used to have polarity change plugs and switches, ground lift options Transformers in amplifiers would be situated in what seems to be not uniform placement in the chassis ...hum. same things with components in the area. There was a joker near a place that I used to live with a ham radio. He couldn't physically hear me but he would find me with his equipment and squelch me (a good way to loose the radio operators license) he would do this to let me know he was alive I guess. Senior citizens they too need a hobby. Cables though May I suggest Road Hog.
Thanks for the tip and thanks for watching!
This is one of the flaws with the fuzz face circuit..it turns into a great antenna when you introduce ground into the sweep of the volume pot..
glad to hear you seem to have fixed the issue!! I never heard of something like that before and found this very interesting. I would believe that a metallic box (if the metal is conductive) is the best way to shield the electronics inside. Therefore I would have been seriously surprised if it would have turned out that the smiley is the evildoer. So if the problem becomes more obvious if the pedal is active I would believe that the issue was happening before and just amplified by the pedal (through gain and compression). My initial thought was that also the strings of youf guitar might act as antennas. If so I think you might test this if you turn your guitar in different directions especially from horizontal to verticel position. But anyway It looks like you have fixed the problem. All the best !!
Thanks! Since filming this I have noticed some radio frequencies in my other fuzz face style pedals, but not in any of my other pedals (including overdrives/distortions). Who knows, there may be a “part 2” of this video hahaha
I have the bender never had a problem with it …. Be kinda cool to use the radio signal as part of an effect
That would be cool, if I could predict when it will show up and what various conditions make it happen. I kind of think a “radio effect” would in and of itself be a cool guitar pedal. Sadly, it doesn’t work great for Hendrix, which is the real reason I own fuzz pedals lol
Sleep Now In The Fire has that effect at the end.
i have the same issue after i bay tray free the tone integrate gate ig in is perfect
Thanks for sharing how you fixed yours. Thanks for watching!
I can't imagine it's simply the cable. I've played with many crappy cables over the years (as we all have), and I've never picked up a radio station.
If it’s an intermittent problem, it could be that the problem simply wasn’t occurring during the time I used new cables. That being said, JHS told me that FuzzFace style pedals are so simple in design that it’s “pretty much they are just a radio that works in reverse.” We will see if it comes back I guess 🤷🏻
it depends on the pedal. I have more than a few pedals and they don't do it. One of my pedals did. So it's possible that you just had pedals, Preston, that didn't do this. Thank god for simple solutions! Also, Every Note Counts, thanks for making this!
Honestly thats a common thing with fuzzfaces, its kind of hilarious when used right. My fuzzface randomly picks up am talk radio lol
Hahaha, nice! I was picking up an impassioned preacher while I was playing Hendrix’s Voodoo Child. It was quite amusing lol
Yeah, you're probably right. I'll randomly pick up radio stations sometimes with my Boss FZ-1w, which is Fuzzfaceish, if I go pass a certain volume.
i’m also having this issue 😂
There is nothing wrong with it. Its a 'feature' of the pedal 😂
Amazing how that feature didn’t make the ad copy lol
@@everynotecountsofficial ....True silicon fuzz faces are notorious for this (radio) but there is alot you can do to fix this